General Hand did not meet with the expected success in fighting Indians and asked to be relieved of his command, which Congress, May 2, 1778, resolved to do. But before leaving Fort Pitt, General Hand conducted a successful treaty with the Indians June 17, 1778.
In October following he succeeded General Stark in command at Albany, and the next spring General Hand was ordered to take part in General Sullivan’s campaign against the Six Nations. Although the youngest of the generals engaged, Hand held the most important position after that of General Sullivan. His experience in fighting Indians gained on the western frontier was of great value in the expedition.
General Hand afterward joined General Washington and encamped at Morristown, N. J., during the winter.
On the formation of the light infantry corps of the army, August, 1780, General Hand was given command of one of the two brigades.
He was a member of the tribunal that tried and convicted Major André.
General Hand was appointed Adjutant-General of the Army of the United States January 8, 1781. He was present at the siege of Yorktown and returned with the troops to Philadelphia.
September 30, 1783, he was commissioned Major-General of the Pennsylvania Line.
Upon the close of the war he resumed his practice of medicine at Lancaster.
He was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1784 and 1785, and a member of the General Assembly 1785, and an Elector for the first election of a President and Vice President of the United States in 1789.
General Hand helped frame the Constitution of Pennsylvania of 1790, and held other positions of honor and trust.